According to a new blog post by Hootsuite‘s Ryan Holmes, Investment Quebec tried luring the Vancouver-based social media dashboard company to Canada’s french-speaking province (most likely Montreal). Not only that, but several other cities have knocked on his door wondering if the company would consider packing up, including San Francisco and two other B.C locales, Surrey and Squamish.
Holmes boasted that it was simple: when a company like his raises a ton of venture capital and is set to employ 700 people by the end of this year it’s a huge positive for the city. And other cities want that economic effect.
“These are young, smart, well adjusted people with good jobs who are contributing to the local economy in a big way,” he wrote. “Ignoring the obvious taxes that the company pays, the ripple effect of having multiple tech startups fuelling the local economy is a taxman’s wet dream.”
His motivation for writing the post was based on Investment Quebec’s pitch below. Unfortunately, the CEO isn’t biting- “having roots — whether you’re a person or a company — is critical. I’ve always dreamed of growing Vancouver into a new tech center north of the border.”
But he also said that “the competition out there to lure my company away from the city is only getting fiercer.” Fortunately for Vancouver he’s staying put, while acknowledging that the cities needs to find ways to attract more graduates, to provide more meaningful jobs and “to make Vancouver attractive to tomorrow’s tech.”
Check out Investment Quebec’s pitch:
Dear sirs,
As the facilitator for the Québec Government Investment Attraction armInvest Quebec, I’m contacting you to inform you of the advantages your organization could receive in expanding to (Québec) Canada.
Quebec has earned a reputation for talent; creativity and technological innovation. Thanks to this potent combination, Québec’s multimedia industry is ideally positioned to welcome new players and ensure their success. Activision (Beenox), Autodesk, Behaviour, Electronic Arts, Frima Studio, Gamerizon, Sarbakan, Sava Transmédia, Square Enix (Eidos), Ubisoft and Warner are just a few examples of major companies growing in Québec.
Every year, over 4,500 students trained in every aspect of the industry graduate with degrees in multimedia.
Quebec Advantages:
A generous tax regime that encourages investment
· Québec’s is one of the only places in the world to offer such generous tax credits for the multimedia industry (tax credits that can cover up to 37.5% of labor costs)
· Québec’s taxes on investment are among the lowest in Canada and lower than the average rates in the United States, G7 countries and OECD countries.
· To stimulate manufacturing investments, Québec offers an investment tax credit covering up to 40% of the cost of newly purchased manufacturing and processing equipment.
· Finally, Québec reimburses the sales tax on capital goods.
Lower cost of doing business
· Québec’s labor costs average 13% less than in the United States and 10.5% less than in G7 countries.
· In Québec, electricity costs are 13.9% lower than in the U.S. and 30.6% lower, on average, than in the G7 countries.
· Office space rents average 7.6% less than in the U.S. and 36.3% less than in the G7 countries.
Our Digital Media specialist at Invest Quebec, NAME EDITED, will be in British Columbia this week (February 25 to 28) and have requested to meet with you to discuss potential business opportunities in Quebec, along with available financial incentives (tax incentives, interest free loans, grants, etc.) offered by our agency to companies looking to potentially expand in Quebec.
The meeting would last one hour and can be scheduled during the time and date most convenient for you.
Looking forward to your answer.
All the best,
NAME EDITED —
Invest Québec
1274 Jean-Talon East | Suite 202
Montréal, QC H2R 1W3 CANADA
Photo from CantechLetter